For the second year in a row, global university analyst QS has measured schools based on what future job-seekers want to know: which ones will make you the most employable.
After its initial pilot project last year, QS examined the links between 300 different universities' practices and how employable its graduates are, according to a press release.
Out of the 300 ranked, six Canadian universities made the global top 100 — four made it into the top 50.
Unsurprisingly, universities with a strong STEM focus — especially in technology — ranked higher, QS said. (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.)
Schools with strong co-op programs, partnerships with employers, and good alumni networks also placed high on the list.
Half of the top 10 schools were American, with Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology coming out on top.
Other top 10 universities worldwide included: Tsinghua University in China, The University of Sydney, University of Cambridge, Ecole Polytechnique ParisTech, Columbia University, University of Oxford, University of California, Berkeley (UCB), and Princeton University.
Here's how Canadian schools stacked up:
Apparently University of Toronto graduates are Canada's most employable. The school consistently ranks highly in QS' university rankings, usually placing in the top 5. For graduate employability, it placed 19th of 300 schools.
U of T is Canada's top school for "alumni outcomes," and counts four prime ministers among its many notable graduates.
The University of Waterloo, often heralded for its STEM programs and co-op opportunities, fell just behind U of T at 22nd. Named Canada's most innovative university for the for the 25th year in a row, it was ranked first worldwide in "employment partnerships" for its research collaborations.
Also typically highly regarded in university rankings is Montreal's McGill University, which ranked 28th for graduate employability based on its high "alumni outcomes" rank.
The University of British Columbia was the fourth Canadian school to make it to the top 50, ranking 41st for graduate employability. Its strongest score came from the "employment reputation" factor.
Although the Times Higher Education survey named this Canada's top university overall this year, the University of Calgary just cracked the top 100 in the QS survey, placing in the 81-90 category.
UCalgary also has a graduate employment rate of 95 per cent — the highest of Canadian universities in the rankings.
Although it scored the lowest for graduate employability (it placed in the 91-100 category), the University of Alberta has high employment rates — 85 per cent of the BCom program's class of 2015 found work three months after graduating.
Employer reputation weighted more than employment rates
The QS rankings looked at employer reputation, alumni outcomes, employer partnerships, and employer-student connections.
Despite high employment rates from Alberta universities, other universities were placed higher on the list due to QS' methodology.
Employer reputation accounted for 30 per cent of a school's ranking, while actual graduate employment rates only accounted for 10 per cent.
Canada's top 10 for employability also included Queen's University, Universite de Montreal, McMaster University (all falling in the 101-150 ranking spots), and Western University (151-200).
Also on HuffPost
